Report: Footballs during Chiefs-Patriots game were underinflated

According to the report by MassLive's Mark Daniels , members of the Patriots special team were "visibly upset in the locker room" following their 27-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Week 15 due to an "error" by the officiating staff. Per Daniels' report, the footballs mean for both teams' kicking units were "underinflated by two pounds."

"After team complaints, officials took the ‘K-Balls’ into the locker room at halftime where they were discovered to weigh 11 pounds per square inch instead of the legal limit of 13.5, per sources," Daniels wrote. "The underinflated footballs didn’t travel as well in the Foxborough weather on Sunday and sources indicated that’s why Patriots kicker Chad Ryland and Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker missed field goals in the first half. Sources noted that the footballs traveled farther in the second half once inflated to the proper 13.5 PSI."

Butker continued his perfect season on extra points, drilling all three of his tries (including two in the first half), but his 39-yard field goal miss in the first quarter was his first misfire of the campaign. He made both of his field goal attempts (29 yards, 54 yards) in the second half and is now 25-for-26 this season.

Ryland is a fourth-round rookie and while he's made all 19 of his extra points this year, field goals have been a major struggle. Following his 41-yard field goal miss in the first quarter and his 25-yard make in the second frame, the 24-year-old is now 13-for-20 on the kicks in 2023.

According to the report, a source of Daniels said that the Patriots told the officials that the balls were "a little underinflated or they felt that way" and at halftime, the referees "confirmed and obviously put air in them." 

Furthermore, Daniels wrote that New England first noticed something wasn't right when Butker's game-opening kickoff landed at the three-yard line, allowing for a return. The seventh-year pro has had 87.1% of his kickoffs go for touchbacks this season, according to Daniels' report.

"As the half went on, the team noticed that the trajectory and hang time of kickoffs and punts were lower than usual. Another source noted that the kicking balls were unusually soft to the touch," Daniels wrote.

If fans are wondering how the Chiefs and Patriots didn't realize the issue before the contest began, the insider had an explanation. Per Daniels, teams aren't "allowed to work with the kicking balls during their pregame warmups in accordance with NFL rules."

"Deflategate" began following the AFC Championship Game between New England and the Indianapolis Colts in January 2015, when officials discovered that footballs were underinflated during the first half of the Patriots' victory. A long investigation followed, and Brady ended up being suspended for the first four games of the 2016 campaign and the team was fined $1M and lost two draft picks.

As was the case with the playoff game between Indianapolis and New England, the underinflation of the football may not have made a difference in Sunday's contest between the Chiefs and Patriots, but it sure makes for an interesting storyline.